


The Ghosts of Westerberg High

by tootiredforthis



Category: Heathers (1988), Heathers: The Musical - Murphy & O'Keefe
Genre: Gen, Murder Mystery, buzzfeed unsolved ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 19:28:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13173654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tootiredforthis/pseuds/tootiredforthis
Summary: A girl in senior year at Westerberg High has joined the school newspaper, and decides to take on a rather dangerous assignment- documenting the multiple ghosts of the school. Read Veronica Sawyer's account of the events that happened the first two weeks of the school year of 1989, then follow Diana Leigh on her four-night quest to understand the Ghosts' side of the story.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had originally posted this on FFN, but i decided to post it here, for reasons yet unknown even unto myself. hope you like this!

September 9, 2019  
Westerberg High Student News  
DAY ONE: WHAT TO EXPECT FOR FRESHMEN  
By Diana Leigh (senior year)

My dear Freshmen: Welcome to high school! I know, this is a sudden change for some of you. Perhaps, others have had siblings who have told you what to expect. Nonetheless, I am writing this to give you all some advice that you would do well to remember.   
This school is haunted. There’s really no way to say it more bluntly. This article will tell you the story behind it, as well as my encounters with the ghosts, and what to do to keep them satisfied.  
40 years ago, this school was ‘ruled’ by a clique known as the Heathers- so named because there were three girls, all named Heather. Heather McNamara, who was the head cheerleader; Heather Duke, who ran the yearbook committee; and Heather Chandler, the almighty. Some had described her as a ‘Mythic Bitch’. Incredibly ruthless, a word from any of them could send your social life into hell. A former student, Veronica Sawyer, told me, “If there was anyone who could raise you from obscurity, only to send you plummeting back, it was the Heathers. I would know, because they did it for me.”  
Ms Sawyer proceeded to tell me the whole story. “It all started when I forged a hall pass. I can’t get in trouble for that, 40 years later, can I? Duke was in the bathroom, as her bulimia was acting up, and McNamara and Chandler were hanging out, trying to avoid class. I was also there, doing my business, and then Ms Fleming walks in, ready to hand out detentions to anyone out past the bell.   
“I saw my chance to get on the Heathers’ good side, so I forged a hall pass, saying we were on the yearbook committee. Ms Fleming bought it, hook, line and sinker. As soon as she left, Chandler interrogated me, asking what I wanted. Originally, I just wanted to sit at their lunch table so people wouldn’t bully me so much. However, McNamara really stood up for me, saying I’d make a good addition to the clique. They gave me a makeover and invited me into their social circle. It was fun. While it lasted.   
“A new kid showed up, just for the year. Tall, dark hair, sparkling grey eyes… total dreamboat. Kurt Kelly and Ram Sweeney saw me talking to him, and decided- for some reason- to beat up the new kid. (New kid, by the way, was Jason Dean, or JD as I called him.) Yeah, the two jocks didn’t get far. Turned out JD was really clever and strong, and he kicked both their asses. JD took me out for slushies after. He told me he liked the pain of brain freezes. Weird. But, I was still infatuated.   
“That weekend, we had a huge party at Ram Sweeney’s place. Everyone got completely hammered, including me. I remember, sorta, throwing up all over Heather Chandler’s new coat. She promised to kill me on Monday. So, in my drunk, high, state, I decided the best course of action was to go and sleep with the new kid whom I’d met literally the day before. He was my first.   
“Heather was really hungover the next day, so I went over to make her a hangover remedy and do some major ass-kissing to make up for the last night. JD came with me. We got there, and see she’s dead. Glass table shattered, a cup in her hand. She’d drunk drain cleaner. Not sure why she of all people would commit suicide, but Ms Fleming said we couldn’t judge from outward appearances. You can probably find a copy of Heather Chandler’s suicide note in the newspaper archives somewhere. It was a pretty big story.  
“Her funeral was packed. So many people. Pretty sure that made the news too. You can ask your parents about it. Practically everyone in the town was there. Ram and Kurt invited me, Heather Duke and Heather McNamara on a double date, with me as designated driver. Right after my best friend’s funeral! Well, they weren’t the smartest. I agreed. Turns out, McNamara kept her and Duke from date rape by offering me up for date rape. Barely managed to fend off a wasted Kurt and Ram, and gave them more booze.   
“Next morning- monday morning- my whole life went to sh*t. Kurt and Ram, those f**king d*cks, spread a rumour, saying they’d had a nice lil sword fight in my mouth, if you get what I’m saying. After school, that day, they beat up JD pretty good. He was so angry… Gave them a good tongue lashing. I’m surprised he didn’t kill those d*cks right then and there. The very next day, JD and I were out behind the school making out in his car, a cop comes up and asks us if we’d heard anything suspicious. We said, yes, we’d heard three gunshots, maybe 20 minutes prior. Didn’t think much more of it.   
“We get to school, find out it’s been cancelled because Kurt and Ram killed themselves in a double suicide. The Linebacker and the Quarterback, turns out, were in a gay relationship. Didn’t want to live in this prejudiced world anymore, so they killed themselves. Their suicide note’s also in the newspaper archives. Honestly, I don’t blame them. Back in the late ‘80s, everyone was prejudiced. Things have definitely changed.   
“We go to the funeral. Not quite as packed as Chandler’s, but still pretty crowded. Kurt and Ram’s fathers said they’d’ve been supportive if they’d’ve known. And then immediately proceeded to kiss in front of everyone. In church! Everyone was shocked but supportive.   
“JD and I fought that night. Our first big fight as a couple. I broke up with him. If I had known what he was planning, I wouldn’t’ve. To get my attention back, he created a bomb, planned to blow up the school. He was willing to kill everyone in Westerberg High, just for me to love him again. The night he picked, there was a pep rally- to boost everyone’s spirits after the multiple suicides. JD had thermals upstairs in the gym, but the starter bomb was in the boiler room. He was ranting, almost delusional, thinking I was a ghost, maybe the ghost of his mother?  
“He was going to press the trigger.  
“I talked him out of it, but there was still the matter of the bomb. The timer wouldn’t stop. He grabbed it and ran outside to the football pitch, where it exploded, killing him. I miss him, still. But, I’ve moved on. I just hope all their spirits have too.”

THE GHOSTS  
We believe there are five ghosts haunting this school.   
One, in the girls’ restrooms, we believe to be Heather Chandler. She appears in the mirrors and, apparently, has turned the faucet water into drain cleaner.   
Two and Three, roaming the halls and cafeteria, we believe to be Kurt Kelly and Ram Sweeney. They don’t have a physical form, from what I’ve heard, but their force has been felt. They’ve been known to smack lunch trays from students’ hands, and particularly target freshmen.   
Four, haunting the football pitch, we believe is Jason Dean. A very hazy figure, he’s hard to spot, but if you lock eyes with him, it’s said you’ll experience a headache like a brainfreeze.   
Five, in the boiler room, is an unknown ghost. No physical form, only echoes and whispers. One witness says they heard a sing-songy masculine voice, repeating ‘Our Love is God’ over and over. Someone else said they heard a whisper in their ear, asking for Veronica, before feeling a sharp pain in their side, as though they had been shot. A third witness had heard a male voice repeating the number Seventeen. The number 17 has been carved into and painted on the walls more times than possible to count, and no matter the efforts to cover up the damages, the number still remains. 

Next week’s article will document my experiences with these ghosts. That’s right, I got permission from the school to spend four nights consecutively in the halls of Westerberg High. I may have had some help from Ms Sawyer, who convinced the school board to let me figure out once and for all what’s happening here.  
Diana Leigh, signing off.


	2. Night One- the Girls' Bathroom

NIGHT ONE: Heather Chandler- girls’ restrooms.   
Diana Leigh had taken this news assignment on a dare, but now she was beginning to regret it. However, she never backed down from a challenge. The night of September 9, she had brought as many tools as she could- which wasn’t very many. She had two video cameras, a string of fairy lights, a sharpie, a pad of paper, a voice recorder, and a thermal imaging camera. Diana had almost thought of packing a ouija board, but decided against it. Those things were freaky.   
Her first target was the gym bathrooms. Heather Chandler had often been seen there, just glimpses in the mirrors, wearing a red silk dressing gown, and blue liquid dribbling out her mouth. Tonight, Diana hoped to talk to her.  
She plugged in the fairy lights, labeled each one with a letter- straight onto the tile- then turned on the voice recorder. She’d gotten the idea with the fairy lights from a show called Stranger Things. If it worked for Winona Ryder, it would work for her.  
“Night One, Scene One. Ghost- Heather Chandler. Gym bathrooms. Miss Heather, if you’re here, please, give me some sort of sign.” Diana said, putting on an air of confidence. If anything, ghost hunting at school scared the shit out of her.   
“Speak into the voice recorder? Or use the lights?”   
A flicker came through the fairy lights.   
“Miss Heather, I’m Diana Leigh. I was hoping to speak to you tonight. Could you tell me how you died? The official report said it was a suicide. But I’m not sure Ms Sawyer was telling me the whole story.”  
The lights flickered again, before individual bulbs began to spell out a message.   
M-U-R-D-E-R  
Diana hoped this was being captured on one of the video cameras. It’d be amazing proof.   
“How were you murdered?”  
P-O-I-S-O-N  
Poisoned- probably by drain cleaner, since that was the legend.   
“Miss Heather, could you tell me who murdered you?”  
V-E-R-O-N-I-C-A-S-A-W-Y-E-R-T-H-A-T-L-I-T-T-L-E-B-I-T-C-H  
The longest message yet.   
“Anyone else?”  
H-E-R-B-O-Y-F-R-I-E-N-D-J-A-S-O-N-D-E-A-N  
“So Ms Sawyer wasn’t telling the full truth. She told me she was gonna majorly kiss your ass after what she’d done at Ram’s party. But when she got to your home, apparently, you were dead. She and her boyfriend killed you, then faked it to look like a suicide?”  
Y-E-S  
“Thank you, Miss Heather. You’ve been a great help to me tonight. Is there anything else you want to tell me?”  
I-F-I-H-A-V-E-T-O-S-I-N-G-K-U-M-B-A-Y-A-O-N-E-M-O-R-E-T-I-M-E-I-W-I-L-L-S-C-R-E-A-M  
“I’ll be sure to pass on the message.”

The next morning, Diana went through the audio from the video and voice recorder. One of the video cameras had gone dead, but the other had recorded all the fairy lights conversation. The camera only captured her voice, but the voice recorder’s audio had a voice that wasn’t hers- it was Heather Chandler’s.  
“Fuck me gently with a chainsaw!”


	3. Night Two- the Hallway

NIGHT TWO: Kurt Kelly and Ram Sweeney- hallway and cafeteria

The second night’s setup was similar to the first. However, given that Kurt and Ram weren’t the sharpest tools in the shed, Diana decided not to use the lights, but rather just a system of knocks on the lockers.  
“Night Two, Scene Two: Kurt Kelly and Ram Sweeney- Hallway outside Cafeteria. If either of you boys are here tonight, please knock on the lockers or speak into the voice recorder. I want to get to the bottom of your deaths, as I believe Ms Sawyer wasn’t telling me everything.”  
Nothing.  
“Kurt Kelly, were you and Ram Sweeney best friends? Knock once for yes, or twice for no.”  
One knock. Only, it wasn’t exactly a gentle knock on hollow sheet metal, it was a loud BANG almost directly next to Diana.   
“Son of a bitch!” She exclaimed, before regaining her composure.   
“Ram Sweeney, were you and Kurt gay for eachother? Or was that a lie made up to humiliate you? Knock once for yes, twice for no.”  
Two BANGs to Diana’s left, another BANG to her right.   
“Were you murdered or did you commit suicide together? Knock once for murder, twice for suicide.”  
One loud collective BANG, as though every locker had been slammed simultaneously.   
“Did Veronica Sawyer murder you? Once for yes, twice for no.”  
There seemed to be a pause, before two BANGs to her left.   
“Was it her boyfriend?”  
One loud BANG. Jason Dean was the culprit.  
“Do you boys have anything else to say? Speak into the voice recorder.”  
Diana waited two minutes before shutting everything off and going home to analyse the data.  
The video evidence captured no silhouettes or spectres, but it did capture a whisper. Just before she’d shut off the cameras, a man’s voice said, “What does that mean?” The same phrase was caught on the voice recorder, but a different man’s voice said before it, “He said, ‘We can start and finish wars, we’re what killed the dinosaurs, we’re the asteroid that’s overdue. The dinosaurs will turn to dust, they’ll die because we said they must.’” then the other voice said “What does that mean?”, almost in a confused, pleading-for-his-life tone.   
Diana didn’t sleep so well that night.


	4. Night Three- the Football Pitch

NIGHT THREE: Jason Dean- football pitch

Just as the previous nights, Diana set up shop. Two cameras, one thermal imaging camera, and a voice recorder. Tonight, she’d be outside, so the fairy lights wouldn’t be practical.   
It was necessary to dress warm, as it was unusually chilly outside on the football pitch. It’d always been cold on the football pitch, for as long as anyone could remember, going back forty years. One could even say it was like swimming through a slurpee.   
“Night Three, Scene Three. Jason Dean- football pitch. JD, if you’re here, give me a sign. Speak to me, or manifest yourself. I don’t think Veronica told me everything, so I’d like to clear some things up.”  
“Hey, doll.” a voice whispered from behind Diana. A chilly handprint could be felt on her back. She gasped in shock, before whispering back, “JD? Is that you?”  
“Yep. Cold as ever. You said you wanted to compare my story to Veronica’s?” he said apprehensively.   
“Indeed. She told me you’d had a fight, and that to win back her love you planned to blow up Westerberg High. What’s your side of the story?” Diana asked, drawing up her courage, and also praying to Hel that this was showing up on the thermal camera.  
“We did have a fight. We were arguing over whether or not we should have killed Kurt and Ram. ‘Course, it didn’t matter much at that time. They were dead. She broke up with me, over that, and I made up my mind to rid this world of all the assholes in this godforsaken school. I went over to Veronica’s to invite her to the pep rally, told her about my little plan. She was hiding in the closet. I got concerned, since she wasn’t coming out, so I barged in, and I saw her, hanging by the neck, from a makeshift bedsheet noose.”  
“That must’ve been terrifying to see.” Diana sympathised.   
“It was. I decided, that, whether she was dead or not, Westerberg had to go. I got so far as to put thermals in the gym under the bleachers, but as far as setting them off? Well… Veronica stopped me. I thought it was a ghost, for a few moments. I’d seen her dead. Guess I was mistaken. She took my gun, she shot me in the side, in the boiler room. I slowly walked outside, took the bomb from her, and let it blow me up. Probably got instantly cremated.”   
“Well, you saved her life, didn’t you? So why are you still here?”  
“Just to freak out other students, I guess. Want a slurpee?”  
JD materialised in front of Diana, his blue eyes remained sharp and clear despite his trenchcoated figure being hazy. Immediately, Diana almost bent over, her head almost freezing.   
“Goddamn brain freezes.”  
“Thanks for talking with me tonight. It gets lonely when nobody bothers to say hello. Oh, could you pass on a message to Veronica?”  
“Sure, what is it?”  
“Tell her, she was truly a Dead Girl Walking.”

Diana was lucky. The entire conversation had been recorded on her voice recorder AND a cold figure had been captured on the thermal camera. Sometimes, she guessed, it paid to be polite to ghosts.   
She pulled out her computer and googled, ‘Can a ghost testify in a court of law?’ (Turns out the answer is yes.) Diana certainly had a lot of evidence against Ms Sawyer. The question was, would she use it?


	5. Night Four- the Boiler Room

Night Four- the Boiler Room  
Diana spent the night in mute terror, hoping there wasn’t anything down here that could hurt her. Then again, this was the site of its own Gunpowder Plot, with, potentially, the ghost of its own Guy Fawkes.   
Over and over and over, she heard it, just like the stories said: ‘Our Love Is God, Our Love Is God’, ‘Seventeen’, ‘Can’t we be Seventeen?’ ‘You’re the one I choose,’ and again and again, ‘Seventeen’.   
She got no sleep that night. Nobody showed up to talk to her.   
She concluded that if there was anything, it was an echo of a whisper of a sliver of a Spirit.


	6. Epilogue

September 16, 2019  
Westerberg High Student News  
GHOSTS OF WESTERBERG HIGH  
By Diana Leigh (senior year)

Well, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you’ve been waiting for.   
My ghost-hunting was… eventful to say the least.  
I will post the audio/video on the school website and YouTube, for you to draw your own conclusions.  
I got some weird results in the bathroom with Heather Chandler, lights flickering, a few weird EVPs, the sinks turning on… but I couldn’t conclusively say they were caused by Heather Chandler.  
In the hallways, with Kurt Kelly and Ram Sweeney, things were… odd. I asked anyone with me to knock on the lockers in response to my questions. I got several responses, but, again, I cannot say conclusively that these were Kurt and Ram.   
The only conclusive interview with a ghost I got was out on the Football pitch, with Jason Dean. I’ve put the video/audio on the school website and YouTube, so you can watch it for yourself. If it implicates Ms Sawyer in any way, I will leave it to you to bring the evidence against her.   
I did spend a night in the Boiler Room- the single most terrifying thing I’ve ever done- but again I cannot conclusively state that there is a ghost there.   
I will not confirm or deny the possibility of the Ghosts of Westerberg High. I will let you draw your own metaphorically resonant conclusions.   
It’s not the greatest beginning to my Senior year, but I hope it gives you a sense of what I’ve been dealing with for the past three years of my schooling.   
I will be leaving this newspaper to focus on my studies. My replacement, Mayra Czar, will do the best she can to fill this void. She’s a Junior this year, so she’ll have more time to write.   
Best of luck to you, students.   
Diana Leigh, signing off for the last time.


End file.
